They came in their tens of thousands to catch one more glimpse of Steven Gerrard wearing the Liverpool captain's armband.

From all parts of Down Under and beyond, more than 40,000 poured into Sydney's Olympic Stadium to see the Australian Legends play their inaugural game against the Liverpool Legends.

But, as the sea of red Gerrard 8 shirts testified, most came to see arguably the greatest Red legend of them all. And he didn't disappoint.

Gerrard, looking as fit as ever, ran the show in a comfortable, entertaining 4-0 win for Gerrard Houllier's side. He was at the heart of everything, providing a crucial assist, setting up numerous chances, attempting 40-yard chips and leaving the adoring fans who applauded his every touch to wonder what might have been if he'd stayed on for one more season under Jurgen Klopp.

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Although it has to be remembered he wouldn't get anywhere near this time and space in the Premier League. And he was on a different level to everyone on the pitch not just because of his talent but because most of the others had hung their boots up years ago. Not that that small detail stopped Ian Rush and John Aldridge doing what they'd always done in a red shirt. Put the ball in the net. Despite having a combined age of 111.

Their late goals, after coming off the bench, were the icing on the cake for this big, passionate crowd of Aussie Liverpool fans, but it was Gerrard's performance that left them drooling.

He pulled the strings, dinking it into the box for the likes of Robbie Fowler and Vladimir Smicer and spraying it wide for Luis Garcia, who has lost none of his skill. It was the little Spaniard who broke the deadlock just before the half-hour, latching on to a Patrick Berger pass, taking two touches and burying it past Aussie keeper Zeljko Kalac, before delighting the crowd with his famous thumb-sucking salute.

Thumbs up: Luis Garcia pulled out his old celebration after netting for the legends (Image: Mark Kolbe/Liverpool FC via Getty)

Garcia headed a second shortly after the break, getting on the end of a beautifully whipped cross from Gerrard.

With 25 minutes left, Gerrard found the over-lapping John Arne Riise, who played in a cross that 54-year-old Ian Rush punced on like a teenager. It brought the biggest cheer of the night. Afterwards, an emotional Rush said the goal was “very special” to him as it may well be the last one he scores in a Liverpool shirt before such passionate suport.

In a season that's seen Liverpool so far score their least amount of league goals ever, here was a reminder from a man who scored 346 times for the Reds that “false nines” are no substitute for natural-born goalscorers. A point hammered home by John Aldridge in injury time when he too made an instinctive run into the box to poke home a Riise cross.

In defence Jamie Carragher looked like he'd never been away. Fit, sharp, covering every inch across the back-line, yelling at his team-mates and reading the game with intelligence. Here was another reminder of what Liverpool have been missing for a couple of seasons. With no fit central defenders left Klopp could do worse than ask him to get his boots on for a couple of months.

The answer to the injury crisis? Should Klopp ask Jamie Carragher to pull on his boots again? (Image: B Kanaris/Liverpool FC)

Legendary status is one that is handed out liberally in football circles and sometimes these games can resemble the Father Ted "All-Priests five-a-side Over-75s Indoor Challenge Football Match." But these were genuine legends of the club, some so recent, they were always going to put on a committed performance for their fans Down Under.

There were two of Rafa Benitez's signings Garcia and Fabio Aurelio. And the veterans of the 80s title-winning sides Rush, Aldridge and the ever-acrobatic Bruce Grobbelaar, drew standing ovations when they came on as second-half substitutes.

Crikey Bruce! Grobbelaar got a standing ovation when he came on (Image: Zak Kaczmarek)

The Aussie side didn't possess the same household names. Mark Bosnich, Brett Emerton, Tony Popovic and Robbie Slater were known to fans in England but the rest were mainly A-League veterans. Maybe after this hammering the likes of Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell will get on board.

The Liverpool lads looked a lot fitter. And the level of talent in their side had made them raise their game and give their all. There will be a lot of sore limbs climbing up the steps of the homeward-bound planes this weekend.

The Aussies really do love Liverpool. Last summer they packed out stadiums in Brisbane and Adelaide for friendlies, in 2013 95,000 fans turned up in Melbourne and last night in Sydney the mini-Kop behind one of the Olympic goals gave such a raucous pre-game rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone the Liverpool players turned to applaud.

Sea of Red: The fans turned out in their thousands (Image: Mark Kolbe/Liverpool FC via Getty)

At the end they sang it again before leaving with big smiles on their faces. To be fair they'd been royally entertained by a midfield masterclass from Gerrard and poachers' goals from Ian Rush and John Aldridge. Rare flashbacks to greatness.

At the end Steven Gerrard took the microphone on the pitch and thanked the fans to delirious applause. He said the experience of playing with the heroes he grew up idolising, Ian Rush and John Aldridge, whom his dad had made him watch and learn from had been “phenomenal.”

You would have struggled to find anyone streaming out of Sydney's Olympic Stadium last night who didn't share the sentiment.